


two of a kind

by DesertLily



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast), The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gender Non-Conforming Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Hurt/Comfort, Jon and Jonny are brothers, Jon uses they/them pronouns, M/M, Nonbinary Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:02:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26453056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertLily/pseuds/DesertLily
Summary: The only thing Jonathan Sims knew about their brother was that they had been given his name.  He had disappeared when Jon was five and no one had heard from him since. Yet a new visitor to the archives is enough to bring back memories of what they had lost.
Relationships: Jonny d'Ville & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 13
Kudos: 284
Collections: Mechanisms and Magnus Crossovers that maintain the integrity of mechanisms lore





	two of a kind

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Don't You Know Me?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24051733) by [ScorpioLight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioLight/pseuds/ScorpioLight). 



> The prospect of Jonny being Jon's older brother has so much potential tbh and I love it!

The only thing Jonathan Sims knew about his brother was that they had been given his name. The only thing Jonathan Sims remembered about their brother was his smile and just the briefest laughter. His face was long gone from their mind. They had been five when Jonny went missing. He had been eighteen and just...vanished one day. He left the house one day then never came back. Exactly a year later, Jon’s parents died and they had never felt more alone. Of course, there was their grandmother who had so graciously took them in but she had never loved Jon; not really. But Jonny? Jonny had been her pride and joy. She had doted on him at every opportunity. So much so, that she’d had Jon’s name changed when she took him in. Jonathan Sims. They couldn’t remember what their name had been before; they didn’t need to. All they knew now was that they carried the weight of their brother’s name and it would never leave them. It would _never_ leave them. Even when they had come out as nonbinary, they hadn’t been able to part with the name; to forget who it represented. 

Jon rarely spoke about Jonny. Mostly because they never had much to say about him. What were they supposed to say? How were they supposed to describe a brother they didn’t even have pictures of? Besides, Jonny had been gone for 22 years now. There was no doubt about him being dead. Not anymore. The only time he had really been brought up; that Jon had really talked about him was to Martin.

The two had been curled up on the sofa cuddling; a small moment of serenity between the chaos that was working in the archives. Martin was running his fingers through their hair and Jon had  _ never _ felt more content before. It felt perfect. Actually,  _ every moment _ with Martin felt perfect. When they were with him, they didn’t have to worry about being the Archivist or all the problems that came with it. They just got to be...Jon. Jon the lucky partner to the most incredible person they had ever met. The two had been talking about everything and anything; mostly trivial things that would soon be forgotten but the moment was...content. That was when he said it; the question that would spark memories Jon had long since forgotten about. 

“Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have siblings?” The words made Jon tense up entirely. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, they thought of Jonny again. They thought of the faceless smile. “Sasha joked that I was the brother she never knew she needed early and it just...It got me thinking.” He let out a nervous laugh as Jon remained silent for a few moments. 

With a soft sigh, they glanced up at their boyfriend. “...I had a brother once - Jonny. I...I don’t really remember him but I  _ know _ he was there. I know he was real.” Jon whispered. It felt...odd saying the words out loud; admitting to Jonny’s existence. They weren’t entirely sure they’d even told  _ Georgie _ about him. But Martin...Martin was different. Martin was someone they trusted without question. He was the holder of their heart and they wouldn’t have had it any other way. “Though, Tim does play the part of ‘irritating little brother’ very well.” Jon joked, trying to force back the memories of a past they detested speaking about. 

Martin was quiet for a moment; picking his next words careful. “You know Tim is older than us, actually?” He didn’t push about Jonny and Jon was so thankful for that. Though, his words did make them furrow their eyebrows in confusion. “He was born in ‘85.” 

Jon sat up abruptly at that. “No way! I  _ refuse _ to believe Timothy Stoker is older than us! Not a chance! Absolutely no way!” They insisted, shaking their head with a soft laugh. And just like that, they went back to cuddling as the discussion of siblings faded into the background. Everything was okay. Jon had Martin and that made everything fine. 

After that, Jonny kept creeping into their mind again and again. The smallest of moments had them wondering how it would have been different if Jonny had been there. Would their childhood have been happier? Would Jonny have taken them in instead of their grandmother? Would Jon actually know what their birth name was? There were so many questions and none of them would ever have answers. That hurt a little - Actually, it hurt a lot. But perhaps that was just a side effect of working at the Institute; you would always be given more questions than you would answer. You’d never have a true explanation for anything. Just vague words or phrases like jigsaw pieces that wouldn’t quite fit together. Or they would fit but there would be one final piece missing; one final thing that wouldn’t fit. 

The last pieces of the puzzle that was their brother arrived on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. It had been normal enough. Jon was recording statements. Tim, Sasha, and Martin were doing their usual research - with Martin occasionally popping in with a cup of tea. That always made them smile. God, what would they do without Martin Blackwood? They had just finished up some statement about a ghost sighting that felt like the definition of false when they heard it. Arguing. Raised voices. That...wasn’t usual. It was rare for big arguments to break out between their assistants and those voices...They weren’t ones Jon recognised. Not really. 

Taking a deep breath, they left their office and were greeted by a sight they almost couldn’t comprehend. Martin and Sasha  _ were _ arguing but not with each other. Instead, they were arguing with perhaps one of the most mismatched groups they had ever met. There were three of them; two men and a woman. All of them were dressed in a ‘steampunk’ fashion but something about it felt more real; more authen- Holy shit, were they holding guns?! This...wasn’t great! Martin seemed to be doing his best to calm things down.

“L-look, we don’t just...give out statements here.” There was a nervous tone to Martin’s voice that Jon hadn’t heard in a long time. He had both his hands held up in a motion that was clearly just trying to defuse the situation. “People come here to  _ give _ us statements about s-situations they’ve experienced. We don’t just...give them out.” 

“Well, why not?” One of the men - the one with the longest hair - seemed to be growing quickly impatient. “What’s the point of having them if you’re just going to file them away? That’s so... _ boring _ . There’s so many stories! So much potential!” 

The woman just looked exasperated as she pushed her glasses up her face. “Careful, Tim. You’re starting to sound like Jonny!” The other man just scoffed at that. “We’re clearly getting nothing from here and I’m getting bored.” Unlike the other two, the woman had a clear Russian accent. But she wasn’t important to Jon. No, what was important to Jon was the name she had said. Jonny. It was a coincidence.  _ It had to be _ . It wasn't allowed to be anything else! They refused to let it be anything else! 

The second man - Jonny - snorted. “Just be glad we didn’t bring Ivy with us. We’d never get her to leave.” He glanced around the archives with a smile that was too familiar to Jon. No, this couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. 

“Well, I suppose you could speak to Jon.T hey’re’the head archivist here. They’re busy at the moment but I’m sure they’ll be free…” 

For once, Martin’s words faded into the back of their mind. Instead, Jon was focused entirely on the man that wore their brother’s smile. Stumbling forward slightly, a look of disbelief formed on their face. “...Jonny?” The man - their  _ brother _ \- turned to look at them and it was as if nothing in the world mattered. It had been twenty two years but they recognised each other. They would always recognise each other. Before they knew it, a pair of arms was wrapped tightly around them. A pair of arms that felt as foreign as they did familiar. 

Jonny pulled back enough to look them in the eyes. “H-Heard that you stole my name?” There was a waiver to his voice; an uncertainty that Jon shared. “Fuck...I looked for you. Should have known the old bat would change your name. She never did anything the easy way…”

They barely comprehended his words. They just understood that he was holding them. Everyone else in the room was watching and asking questions but none of them mattered. Not right now, at least. “You were gone. You were  _ dead _ . I-...How?” As they glanced at him, a startling realisation hit them.  _ Jonny didn’t look his age. _ He didn’t look 40. “What happened to you?”

The smile that graced their brother’s face was a sad one; a resigned one. He finally pulled back from the hug, glancing at his two companions then Martin and Sasha before turning his attention back to Jon. “That’s a story usually best told with a bottle of whiskey and some  _ wonderful _ musical accompaniment.” 

For whatever reason, Jon found themself laughing. For once, everything felt right.  _ Everything felt okay _ . 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Or hmu @ desert-lily on tumblr!


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